Brother 2
Short description
Brother 2 (Брат 2) continues the story of Danila Bagrov, the Chechen War veteran played by Sergei Bodrov Jr. Danila travels to Moscow to appear on a television programme, where he meets friends from his army days. One of them, Konstantin, tells him that his twin brother, a professional ice hockey player in the United States, has been forced into a contract he did not want. Konstantin is soon found dead, and Danila sets out to settle the matter. He flies to Chicago, accompanied by his own brother Viktor, and finds himself pursued by both Russian and American underworld figures.
Aleksey Balabanov directed and wrote the screenplay, following his 1997 film Brother, and Sergei Selyanov produced. Viktor Sukhorukov returns as Viktor Bagrov, alongside Aleksandr Dyachenko, Kirill Pirogov, Gary Houston and Sergey Makovetskiy. Made for about 2 million dollars, the film was a major commercial success in Russia and became a cultural reference point of its era.
On IMDb it holds 7.6 from around 20,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 7.1 from roughly 339 votes. The wider sample on IMDb points to a durable following for the film, whereas the smaller TMDB group rates it somewhat lower.
What's left behind the scenes
- During filming, American pyrotechnicians refused to create a homemade firearm. Then, operator Sergei Astakhov handled this task, crafting it in an hour from a brass tube, iron paperclips, and manganese filings.
- The plot of the popular video game Grand Theft Auto 4 has some similarities to the film. The game's protagonist, Niko Belic, an immigrant from a former socialist country, arrives in Liberty City, a prototype of New York, to join his brother in search of a better life. However, instead of the carefree and easy life his brother promised him in America, Niko has to face the criminal world and also save his brother. Niko’s cousin drives a car very similar to the one Viktor Bagrov had in the first part of the film. Also, one track from the soundtrack matches (“Line of Life” by the band “Splean”).
- Initially, in the television scene, the film’s characters were supposed to appear on the “Vzglyad” program, where Sergei Bodrov worked from 1996 to 1999. Alexander Lyubimov agreed to play the host. But the day before filming, “Vzglyad” called Balabanov and said everything was canceled. After that, Balabanov decided he would not make the film, although by that point the “Moscow” period of the film had already been almost shot. Producer Sergei Selyanov solved the problem by reaching out to TV presenter Ivan Demidov, who provided the studio and agreed to appear in the film himself.
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